Molding apparatus.



No. 718,379. PATENTED JAN; 13, 1903.

G. B..PAINTER. Y

MOLDING APPARATUS. KII LIOAT ION FILED MAY 14, 1900. RENEWED DEG. 19, 1902.

I0 MODEL.

Fig.5.

2 I D D I Witnesses: =Jnveqtgr:

" George Bpamoer;

l I b3 Mi 5m NrrEn STATES ATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE B. PAINTER, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MOLDING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 718,379, dated January 13, 1903.

Original application filed October 6. 1898, Serial No. 692,788. Divided and this application filed May 14., 1900. Renewed December 19, 1902. Serial No. 135,939. (No model.)

request of the Patent Office in accordance with Rule 4.1 as amended February 1, 1900.

The invention relates to apparatus for making articles of desired shapes from insulating material by pressure, and especially linings for lamp-sockets, each lining being formed in a single piece and molded by pressure to have the form requisite for fitting the lampsocket-that is to say, to have two portions of different diameters connected by a shoulder.

I have discovered that insulating material, such as fiber or hard rubber, can be molded by pressure when cold to assume desired shapes and have devised means for treating articles consisting of suchlmaterials to attain the desired result.

Of the drawings, Figurel is a perspective view of the parts of the shell of the lampsocket and of the completed insulating-lining ready to be inserted in the shell; and Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive, are sections of the apparatus, representing the various relative positions of its parts in the corresponding stages of the process of manufacture.

In Fig. 1, A is the lining as a whole, which is composed of two cylindrical portions A A which are connected by a curved shoulder, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5. The cylindrical portion A having greater diameter, is adapted to fit the upper part of the shell 0, (shown in Fig. 1,) and the cylindricalportion A, having the smaller diameter, is adapted to fit the lower portion E of said shell. The lining is formed with notches a a through which the screws in the cap B may pass, and with a deeper out or notch a, in which the key of the switch in the socket (not shown) may be located. The lining intended for use in a socket not provided with a switch and key will not require the notch (1 In Fig. 2, X is a section of an unworked tube from which the finished lining is made. This may be of any-suitable insulating material, such as insulating fiber, hard rubber, and the like, the material being dependent on the special conditions in a given case. is a female die having a cylindrical hole of two different diameters, the portions of different diameters being joined by a curved shoulder 01. The upper part of the hole may be countersunk to permit the ready insertion of the tube X in the hole by the operator. The die D may form a part of or be secured to a suitable operating-table. D is a male dieadapted to be vertically reciprocated by a suitable power-press and is formed with a shoulder 01 and two cylindrical surfaces of different diameters,-which are connected by a curved shoulder d ,corresponding to the shoulder d of the die D. After the tube X has been inserted in the die D the die D is caused to descend, and in its descent the shoulder d engages the'upper end of the tube X, and with a continuation of the downward movement of the die D the lower portion or end of the tube X is forced along the curved.

guiding-shoulder d of the die Dto turn said portion inwardly, asshown in Fig. 3. The wall of the larger diameter of the female die D serves during this operation to prevent the insulating material of which the tube is composed from bending or breaking at points in termediate the shoulder d of the male die and the curved shoulder d of the female die.

As shown in Fig. 3, the lower cylindrical portion of the die D then engages the inwardly-turned portion of the tube and redirects it against the wall at of the lower portion of the die D, thus preventing the end of the tube from buckling into the space between the lower porton D of the die D and the upper portion of the die D, or, in other words, counteracts the tendency to a cone formation. This action is continued, as shown in Fig. 4, and successive portions of the tube above its end are forced along the shoulder d and between the portion D of the male die and the wall (1 of the smaller portion of the female die D. Since it is desirable that the complete tube be of uniform thickness of material, the difference between the diameter of the portion D of the male die D and the smaller diameter of the hole in the die D is the same as the difference between the larger diameter of the die D and the larger diameter of the hole in the die D, thus causing the material of the tube X which is being forced over the shoulder 61 and between the surfaces of the two dies to be compressed to a considerable degree.

In Fig. 5 the die D is shown as having descended to such a distance that its curved shoulder d has assumed its final position concentric with the curved guiding-shoulder d of the die D, and the complete tube A is shown between the dies in their final position.

The lower portion of the tube A is of a uniform degree of compression, which gradually diminishes upward along the curved shoulder, whereas the upper part of the tube has the same degree of compression as at the beginning and is unaltered in shape.

The character of the finish of the surface of the lower compressed portion of the completed tube A is dependent upon the conditions of the unworked tube. It the latter is of the proper thickness and the material of which it is composed is of the proper consistency, the smaller portion of the finished tube will be uniformly compressed, so as to have a perfectly smooth surface, but sometimes it will be crimped or buckled longitudinally, this crimped portion being compressed, so that the surface has a roughened appearance. If the material of which the un worked tube is com posed is not of sufficient rigidity, this is first shown by the formation of circumferential buckles around the top of the tube beneath the shoulder 61 of the die D It is not intended that theinvention be limited in its application to the production of cylindrical tubes or tubes of any specific form or structure, but that the essential features of the invention may be embodied in apparatus for forming insulating material into any desired shapes in substantially the manner described-that is, molding by pressure.

It will be noticed that the dies are so shaped that the insulating material where it is strained at all is continuously strained in compression and is not exposed to any tension or tension strains and is never expanded.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises a female die for guiding the free edges of the wall of such a tube inwardly, whereby the insulating material is caused to fiow, and a male. die or plunger for guiding the inwardly-turned wall so as to prevent buckling, and cause the wall to constitute a portion of smaller diameter.

2. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises a die for guiding the free edges of the wall of such a tube inwardly, whereby the insulating material is caused to flow, and rigid means for guiding the inwardly-turned wall so as to prevent buckling and cause the material in the wall to be compressed to increase its density, and for causing said wall to form a portion of smaller diameter.

3. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises a female die adapted to guide the free edges of the Wall of such a tube inwardly, whereby the insulating material is caused to How, and a male die to press against the inwardly-turned wall so as to prevent buckling and cause said wall to constitute a tube of smaller diameter.

4. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises a female die adapted to guide the free edges of the wall of such a tube inwardly, whereby the insulating material is caused to flow, and a male die adapted to bear rigidly against the inwardlyturned wall so as to prevent buckling and to compress the wall so that the thickness of said wall is unchanged and the diameter of the tube is reduced.

5. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises a female die formed with an inclined portion adapted to guide the free edges of the wall of such a tube inwardly, whereby the insulating material is caused to flow, and a male die adapted to bear rigidly against the inwardly-turned wall so as to prevent buckling and cause said wall to constitute a tube of smaller diameter.

6. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises a female die formed with an inclined portion adapted to guide the free edges of the wall of such a tube inwardly, whereby the insulating material is caused to How, and a male die adapted to bear rigidly against the inwardly-turned wall so as to prevent buckling and cause said Wall to constitute a portion of smaller diameter, said male die being formed with a shoulder against which one end of the tube abuts.

7. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises a female die having a curved portion for guiding the wall of such a tube inwardly, so that the insulating material is caused to flow, said die having a wall extending from said curved portion; and a male die having a portion to fit inside such tube, and a portion of smaller diameter to cooperate with the extending wall of the female die, to prevent buckling and cause the inwardly-turned wall of the tube to form a tube of smaller diameter, the diameter of the smaller portion of the male die being such as to fit the inside of the tube of reduced diameter.

8. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises a female die formed with portions of different diameters adapted to the configuration ofafinished tube, said portions being connected by a shoulder; and a male die also formed with portions of diiferent diameters adapted to the configuration of the completed tube and connected by a shoulder; the shoulder of the female die serving to guide the wall of the tubeinwardly, whereby the insulating material is caused to flow and the diameter of the tube is reduced, and the smaller portion of the male die being adapted to cooperate with the female die to prevent buckling and guide the inwardlyturned wall to form a tube of smaller diameter. 9. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises a male and female die each formed with portions of different diameters, portions of the female die being connected by an inclined shoulder, the corresponding larger portions of the two dies being adapted to receive between them an unworked tube; the inclined shoulder of the female die being adapted to guide the wall of g the tube so that the insulating material is caused to flow, and the smaller portion of the male die being adapted to cooperate with the smaller portion of the female die to prevent buckling and guide the inwardly-turned wall of the tube so that the wall of the resulting I tube of reduced diameter fills the space between the smaller portions of both dies.

10. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises a female die formed with a portion adapted to receive an unworked tube, with a portion adapted to receive the finished portion of the tube, and with a curved shoulder between said portions; and a male die formed with a shoulder for forcing the tube into engagement with the curved shoulder of said female die, to cause the wall of an end of-the tube to be turned inwardly, said male die being also formed with a portion adapted to 'fit the interior of the unworked tube, with a portionadapted to fit the interior'of the finished portion of the tube, and with a curved shoulder between said portions; the difference in the diameters of the portions of the dies which fit the finished portion of the tube being substantially the same as the difference between the di ameters of the portions of the dies which fit the unworked tube.

11. In an apparatus for molding tubes of combination with a female die having its upper portion corresponding in form with the shape of the tube to be operated upon, of a male die the upper portion of which is similarly formed, the lower portions of the dies being of substantially less diameter than their upper portions, whereby the wall of an end of a tube can be turned inwardly and guided to form a portion of the tube of less diameter than the other end of the tube.

12. In an apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material into desired shapes, the combination with a female die formed with a hole of difli'erent diameters, of a male die of corresponding configuration, a shoulder on the interior of the female die connecting the walls of the holes of different diameters and adapted to direct the edge of an end of the tube inwardly between the dies, and a corresponding shoulder on the male die, which is also intermediate the portions of difierent diameters.

13. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises male and female dies adapted to cooperate to turn the free edges of the tube inwardly and to subject the insulating material comprising a wall of such a tube to compression strains to reduce the diameter of the tube.

14. An apparatus for molding tubes of insulating material, which comprises male and female dies adapted to cooperate to turn the free edges of the tube inwardly and to subject the material comprising the wall of a tube to compression strains, and to increase GEORGE B. PAINTER.

Witnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, ALEX. F. MACDONALD. 

